Originally Posted by JuliusMagnus
Why even bother with "a gothic tale"?

And technically PB's Gothic wouldn't get number 5 because if this title's name is Arcania, there wouldn't be a Gothic 4.

If you want to create your own brand, why set it in the world of another brand. there.

The answer is simple: Because Gothic is still JoWooDs' biggest franchise until their rights expire. It's far easier and less risky to try to migrate a fan base from a successfull franchise than to create a completely new brand.
Gothic is the best selling RPG in the German market (JoWooDs' home market). It has a built-in user base of several 100k JoWooD can try to retain.